Keep Looking Up
by mantisbelle
Summary: Qrow comes to James' office late at night to make sure that he actually bothers to take care of himself. James is already doing that, even if it doesn't look that way.


Qrow hated how used he was getting to checking James' office before anywhere else for the general. Even when it was close to midnight, it was always better to check the office.

He stepped off of the elevator and found that James was indeed there, sitting at his desk with his greatcoat draped over his shoulders instead of being worn as a coat. A mug of coffee had gone cold at his side, and instead of working on anything James simply stared up at the ceiling of his office.

Or rather, past the window at the sky above.

"Hey." Qrow greeted the general, only to see him _jump_ slightly as a result. "Still here, huh?"

James sighed. "It wasn't as though I had anyone waiting at home." He replied, looking away from the stars and at the pile of paperwork that had built up in front of him. "And there's always more to be done."

Qrow frowned. "Or—" he spoke up. "You could go home and get some sleep for once."

"No." James mumbled as he picked up his pen and scratched something down on the legal pad at his side. "Not tonight."

"Why not?" Qrow asked, his brow furrowing. What the hell was James' problem? "Wouldn't kill you to take care of yourself for once."

James sighed heavily, like there was something that he was trying to hide. "I was just… waiting for something."

"Paranoid again?"

"No." James corrected. "A comet, actually. I figured I'd stay and enjoy the view."

Qrow looked up for himself. And sure, the skies did look like they were relatively clear.

If you ignored the airships.

If Qrow had wanted to, he could have flown to get the best view that Atlas had to offer. But James wasn't him. James was bound to the land under his feet even though Qrow knew that James _desperately_ wanted to be in the skies, among the heavens.

Not locked up in a tower.

Qrow leaned against James' desk, which earned some _obvious_ annoyance from the general. "Comets, huh?"

"I have to have my hobbies, Qrow." James mumbled. "You may not understand it, but there's great value in astronomy."

Qrow snorted. "Yeah, how?"

James sighed. "Because the stars are always able to bring you home." He said quietly. "Always."

Home.

For a guy that seemed pretty obsessed with protecting his home and his people, James sure seemed to see pretty little of his own home. Of course, Qrow figured that if James' home wasn't a state mansion that was less _his_ than it was Atlas' it'd be something else.

Sometimes Qrow pictured James with a little cabin in the woods. He'd been under the impression for several years that James was a country boy being forced to live the life of a city boy.

James would have been happy in a cabin. Somewhere in the woods where he could see the stars without having to look past light pollution or a fleet of airships.

Qrow sure as hell missed it. That was the one good thing about being in the middle of nowhere in Mistral. You could always see the stars.

"So what's the story with this comet then?" Qrow asked. "Only comes around every 76 years?"

"It has four tails." James replied, matter-of-factly. "At least, it does when it comes over Solitas, for whatever reason."

Qrow blinked. "No fairy tale to go with it?"

"No." James replied. "Just an astronomical phenomenon."

"Damn." Qrow said, leaning still on the desk. His arm brushed slightly against James' own. "And to think all I wanted was a happy ending."

"I think I've had a lifetime of fairy tales." James mumbled quietly, looking back up at the stars. "Is wanting something to just be science so wrong?"

Qrow shrugged. Not like he had an answer for it. He was sure that Ozpin would have had a story for a comet that has too many tails, but Oz was gone or at the very least not speaking to anyone anymore. He supposed they'd never get to hear that story, whatever it was.

Given how Ozpin's stories tended to go, Qrow doubted they would have gotten a happy ending anyways.

"I guess not." He said quietly. "You want me to leave you alone with your space rocks?"

James hesitated. "You can stay if you'd like." There was a long, quiet pause. James considering his options. "I wouldn't protest your company." Another pause. "Should you choose to give it."

Qrow swallowed. "I'll stay then." He said, casting a glance around the room to try and find another chair so that he could make himself comfortable. Finding none he seated himself on James' desk and leaned back slightly by bracing himself on it. "If you want."

James sighed quietly. "You don't have to if you don't want to." He said. "Since I'm sure you're just going to try to make me go home when it's over."

"Heh, maybe I am." Qrow _was_ planning to do that, in truth. "When's this thing coming anyways?"

"Four."

"_Four_?" Qrow squawked. "Are you serious? Don't you get up at five?"

James smiled at him, in that way that made it hard for Qrow to figure out whether he was being bullshitted or not. "Of course." He said after a moment. "It's far from ideal, but I intend to see it." James eyed Qrow, still smiling in that way that was only a _challenge._ "If you don't want to wait, you don't have to stay."

And yeah, there was no way in hell he was going to leave. "And what was your plan for while you waited?"

"I was mostly intending to answer messages." James said. "Student correspondences mostly. As we get closer to midterms I find my inbox fills up rather quickly. The least that I can do is make timely responses and allow students to come in for office hours."

If it was a year before, Qrow would have suggested that he and James enjoy a few drinks while they waited. But that wasn't the case anymore, so Qrow couldn't think of _anything_ to suggest to occupy the time. Maybe the best thing would have been to just let the general answer his emails.

James sighed. "You are allowed to go."

"I'm starting to wonder if you want me to go." Qrow said, truthfully. "It's a pretty long wait though."

James considered it for a moment before he stood up and strode over to one of his bookshelves. Qrow watched his back. James fiddled with something on the bookshelf and Qrow heard a great hissing sound.

"Jim?"

"There's a bed." James said matter-of-factly. "If you wish to rest you can do so."

Qrow blinked. "That doesn't explain the secret room in your office."

"They're just personal quarters." James said. "I had them put in during my third year."

"_Why?"_

James snorted. "Because as you have pointed out, I have a lot of late nights. It's so that I can get a little time to rest during my off hours during busy days." He eyed the room, obviously unsure of himself. "The least I can do is offer it to you so that you can sleep while I wait."

Qrow sneered. "Or you could join me."

"I have work to do." James replied. "You get some rest. I'll be here when you wake."

Qrow didn't like the suggestion. He didn't like _anything_ about the suggestion, and there wasn't anything that seemed like it would have been able to bring him back from that. He also knew perfectly well that if there was one thing about James ironwood that was a universal constant, it was that James was a stubborn bastard that wouldn't stop what he was doing until _he_ was satisfied.

Add in a few perfectionist tendencies and it made for a frustrating man to be around.

"Fine." Qrow muttered. "But I won't like it."

James picked up his personal scroll and Qrow watched silently as he set an alarm. "I'll get you up thirty minutes before it starts." He said quietly. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah." Qrow said as he went into the little room. It really wasn't much, a long bed that was clearly meant for James and James alone, a single chair and a small table that held a microwave and a coffee maker on top of it. Tucked underneath the table was a tiny fridge.

It had never occurred to him that it was just James' personal break room.

He took a seat on the bed, which was just as stiff as every other bed that Qrow knew James had was. But it would be sufficient for a few hours nap, so Qrow figured he couldn't complain too much.

At some point he fell asleep, only to be woken by the feeling of one side of the bed sinking hours later.

Qrow blinked wearily and looked up at James, who looked exhausted but also… happy.

"It's starting soon." James said, standing up. "If you want to join me, you should get up soon."

Qrow let his head drop back onto the pillow behind his head. "I'll be out in a minute."

That seemed to be enough. James left the room and Qrow with it, and when Qrow stepped out he saw that James had set up a nest of sorts in the middle of his office. All layers of thick blankets with a few pillows set out.

It was almost _romantic._

Qrow eyed it. "That for us?"

"Might as well be comfortable." James said, seating himself on it. "It's still a little bit of a wait."

Qrow nodded and took his seat across from the general. "Finish those emails?"

James smiled. "And a few more than I originally intended." There was a pause. "Councilman Sleet wanted to clarify a few matters regarding the curfew in Mantle and security measures that are in place. As you can imagine, that… took some time."

"Brothers." Qrow mumbled. "What made him give up?"

"The time." James laughed. "Apparently two in the morning is past his bedtime."

Qrow snorted. "They're going to give you shit for that."

"Probably." James said. "But I wasn't going to miss the comet, so…" His voice trailed off . "I suppose in a way nothing changes."

Qrow settled into the nest beside James though. It was warm, which meant that James had either chosen blankets with dust linings in them, or that James had allowed himself a little bit of sleep as well.

He leaned against the General as the two of them both settled.

Half an hour later when the comet that James had been so excited to see passed over James' office, Qrow couldn't bring himself to look at the astronomical phenomenon overhead.

Instead, all he could focus on was the look of pure _joy_ and _wonder_ on James Ironwood's face. The love that was there, the happiness, the feeling that there was one thing in the universe that was actually working out the way that he needed it.

Qrow felt his heart fly with the comet.

He hoped that the feeling wouldn't be so mercurial, he thought as he laced his fingers with James' own, which were for the first time since Qrow had arrived in Atlas bare.

James left himself open only for him.

That was the way it was.

That was how it always had been, really.

Qrow wouldn't have traded it for the world.


End file.
